A new study suggests using graphene as an alternative coating for catheters to improve the transfer of chemotherapy drugs.
[Translation by Dr. Nachmani Moshe]
A new study suggests using graphene as an alternative coating for catheters to improve the transfer of chemotherapy drugs. The study suggests that incorporating graphene - an extremely thin layer of carbon atoms - on the inner surface of intravenous catheters that are commonly used to deliver chemotherapy drugs into the patient's body, will improve the effectiveness of the treatment, and reduce the likelihood that the catheter will break.
The study claims that harmful interactions may occur between the most common chemotherapy drug (5-Fluorouracil) and silver - one of the most common coating materials in medical applications. Due to this possible result, the researchers believe that the drug may not have the desired effect on the patients, and that the chemotherapy itself may be damaged. Moreover, the research indicates that a byproduct between the drug and the silver is hydrogen fluoride (HF), which is a strong acid. These findings raise the concern that silver and hydrogen fluoride may enter the patient's body during treatment. One of the research partners explains: "To the best of our knowledge, no one has studied in depth the chemical reaction between chemotherapy drugs and the substances that come in constant contact with them, such as catheters and needles and their coatings. The researchers only assumed so far that the drugs enter the body without any side effects."
The researcher adds and says: "We demonstrated that silver catalytically breaks down the chemotherapy drugs, that is - they are apparently not introduced into the body in the optimal way. Our research indicates that one of the decomposition products of this reaction is hydrogen fluoride, which may be a harmful substance for the patient." As a solution to this problem, the research team suggests using graphene material as an alternative coating for catheters. As part of their research, the scientists used a technology known as X-ray Photon Emission Spectroscopy (XPS) to study the chemical composition of the drug as well as its reaction with silver and the material graphene.
This method is used to measure the surface chemistry of a defined material by projecting a beam of X-rays at it and collecting the electrons emitted from its outer layer as a result. Their findings indicated that in the reaction between the drug 5-Fu and silver, a significant loss of elemental fluorine from the drug occurs, a loss leading to the production of hydrogen fluoride. When the researchers repeated this reaction with graphene, they found that this side reaction disappeared completely and that the graphene did not cause any harm to the drug. The graphene material itself is a biocompatible material with low toxicity that has already been proposed as an external coating for biomedical applications. The researchers point out that the production of thin graphene coatings is indeed technologically possible and that it can be added on top of the silver coating in order to adapt to existing production methods.
"Our findings are an important first step in this new field. Together with our research team, we are expanding the understanding of the important interrelationships between drugs and medical coatings, where our goal is to make this new knowledge accessible and available to everyone," says the lead researcher.
3 תגובות
Ronen
They changed the first paragraph. Now she is really great.
Second, I said that you don't want HF in the body and it is indeed because of the nucleophilicity of the fluoride (or really HF2 - which is what will happen to it most often in an aqueous environment) I just pointed out that they write that it is a strong acid which is not true.
Third, good question.
First: I didn't understand what Maya's problem was about the first paragraph. I had no problem reading and understanding.
Second: indeed HF is a relatively weak acid but still very dangerous for the human body, even in low doses, because of the creation of the substance HF2-.
Third: I didn't understand why the centers continue to be expected with money if there is even a slight fear of contradicting some of the medicines. Beyond that, today there are quite a few other known coatings, which are very cheap compared to graphene (for example sol-gel coatings, many organic materials and even other metals - for example gold, aluminum and more). Why are they not used?
I don't usually like to comment on proofreading problems but the first paragraph is just a string of words none of which form a coherent sentence.
Besides HF is definitely not something we want in our body, but it is not a strong acid. Its dissociation constant is quite low (pKa = 3.17).